By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – After his boat was discovered circling in the water of Lac Des Allemands Thursday, searchers recovered the body of 65-year-old Vacherie native Larry Brock Saturday morning following a three-day search.

Brock, a retired LSU AgCenter county agent for St. John the Baptist Parish, was found just after 8 a.m. Saturday by his friend and neighbor Emile Braud, who was aiding in the search over the weekend. Brock was discovered not far from where authorities found his boat circling in the water. Sheriff’s officials said he was not wearing a life jacket.

Elaine Young, a friend of Brock’s, said the search began Thursday evening when another boater found his empty boat circling in the water near Pleasure Bend. She said he had gone out to tend to fishing nets in the lake.

“They said he was found with a hoop net still wrapped around his wrist,” said Young, a Vacherie resident. “At least he died while doing something he loved, and I know he loved to throw nets and fish in that lake.”

St. John the Baptist Parish Coroner Dr. Christy Montegut performed an autopsy Monday, but results were inconclusive. He said there were no obvious injuries on the body and added that it is presumed he drowned in the water.

Young said Brock spent 25 years as the county extension agent for St. John Parish, and he wrote an agricultural column that appeared in local newspapers. Brock left the local LSU Agricultural Center office in 1999 to travel to Vinnytsya, Ukraine, to be the director of the Farmer Training and Outreach Project. Young said he spent two years there assisting Vinnytsya State Agricultural University in establishing an agricultural extension system.

“Agriculture and farming were his passion, second only to alligator hunting and fishing,” Young said. “He was a good friend to many people.”

Several agencies assisted the St. John Sheriff’s Office in the search, including the Coast Guard, Port of South Louisiana, Louisiana Search and Rescue from Slidell and the state Wildlife and Fisheries Department.

A visitation is set for today at Thibodaux Funeral Home, 104 St. Patrick St., Thibodaux, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. An additional visitation will be held Thursday at Our Lady of Peace Church, 13281 Louisiana Highway 644, Vacherie, from 7 a.m to 10 a.m., with a funeral mass to follow.

Young said the family is seeking donations to go toward a 4-H foundation scholarship in Brock’s name.